Stocks, supplies and shortages #COVID-19

How are you?

We really hope youíre keeping safe and healthy.

Weíre both fine and weíre staying at home because of COVID-19.

We know many of you are too, so weíre going to tell you how weíre coping

And we hope youíll share your stories with us too.

This videoís about vocabulary you can use to talk about your lives and how youíre affected

by COVID-19.

Weíll focus on language for talking about a big issue ñ stocks, supplies and shortages.

A shortage is when there isnít enough of something thatís needed.

The most serious shortages are medical supplies and equipment.

Doctors, nurses and other essential workers need PPE ñ Personal Protective Equipment.

In particular, they need masks to protect their faces.

Goggles to cover their eyes.

Gowns to protect their bodies.

And gloves to cover their hands.

Hospitals also need ventilators and respirators.

They both help with breathing so whatís the difference?

A ventilator is a machine that helps a patient breathe.

It pumps oxygen into the lungs if they're too ill or weak to breathe themselves.

A respirator is a kind of mask, so itís a kind of PPE.

The American Centers for Disease Control recommends that health workers wear N95 respirators that

fit tightly around their nose and mouth.

Now ,there are some kinds of respirators that pump air, so theyíre a kind of ventilator

too.

So sometimes the words respirator and ventilator can be synonyms and mean the same thing.

But normally, ventilators are machines that help patients breathe and respirators are

the protective masks.

OK.

Another serious shortage in the US is testing.

Itís very hard to get tested for COVID-19 here.

We lack the tests we need.

Thereís a lack of testing.

Notice the word ëlackí here.

We use it when there isnít enough of something and you can use it as a verb or a noun.

Thereís another thing we lack at the moment.

Whatís that?

Good news.

Yes.

The news is so bad.

But personally, we want you to know that Vicki and I are fine.

And weíd like to say thank you to everyone who's been wishing us good health in the comments.

Thank you all.

Weíve been isolating for nearly a month now, so we havenít left the house.

And weíre lucky because in Philadelphia we can order online and get food and other things

delivered.

Itís called contact-less delivery because they just leave it on your doorstep.

Can you do the same?

I know itís harder for my family in England.

But it can take a while to get a delivery here now.

Lots of people are ordering online so there are delays

It took two weeks to snag a delivery.

Snag ñ thatís an interesting use of the word snag.

Really?

It means we were lucky to get a delivery.

That meaning is more common in American than British English.

Well Iím glad we snagged it.

Our stocks were running low and our refrigerator was empty.

We ran out of fresh fruit and vegetables.

When you run low, you donít have many.

And when you run out, you donít have any.

We need to learn to order early.

But weíve stocked up now.

Now, what about that word ëstockí?

It has a lot of different meanings.

We have the stock market.

For example, the stock market fell when the corona virus hit.

Here stock means a share in a company.

And stock can be a liquid too that we use in cooking.

This is stock.

Itís a liquid you make by boiling meat or vegetables and you can use it to make soup.

But more often, stock is a supply of something.

Companies might do stocktaking.

Thatís when they count their inventory and all the materials they use to manufacture

their products and do business.

And the word 'stock' can be a verb too.

If a store stocks something, then it has it for sale.

And they might stock the shelves - keep them full.

And if a store has an item available for sale, then we say itís ëin stockí.

And if there arenít any for sale, then the store is 'out of stock'.

Hereís a message I had from Amazon this week.

Itís quite formal English because it was a written message.

If I were saying this, Iíd probably say something like ëThis item is out of stock, so we canít

get it.

Weíve cancelled your order and weíre sorry.

What were they out of?

Contact lens solution.

So you canít clean your contact lenses?

No but it's not a big problem, yet.

With the corona virus, lots of people have been ëstocking upí on things ñ buying them

in large quantities.

Like hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

People have been panic-buying because theyíre worried about a shortage.

Theyíre hoarding them.

Now hoarding is another interesting verb.

It has negative connotations.

Itís when you have a secret stack of something that you donít want to share.

Hereís another phrase we use with the word stock.

We could say a supermarket is well-stocked.

That means the shelves are full of different things.

We have a well-stocked refrigerator.

We can order food online and get it delivered so weíre not worried about running out.

But drinks are a different story.

Yes, we donít know what we have so we want to ëtake stockí.

We want to evaluate our situation because we canít buy any more.

Yeah.

The reason dates back to the 1920s when there was prohibition in America and nobody could

buy or sell alcohol.

And when they changed the law so you could buy alcohol again, Pennsylvania, the state

we live in, took control of all the liquor stores.

When the COVID crisis started, the governor closed down all the non-essential businesses,

but he left the liquor stores open.

So other businesses complained and they said ëHey!

Thatís not fair!í So then he closed down the liquor stores tooÖ

And people REALLY complained about that.

So they opened up an online store and as soon as they didÖ

... the website crashed!

But luckily we have some alcohol in the house.

Weíve got..

Weíve got some red wine.

We like red wine.

Thereís a bottle of port there, and I think itís full.

Oh my goodness.

Thereís a little tiny bit of martini.

Another bit of port.

Oh look, thereís some English sherry.

Oh, very nice.

A pre-dinner drink one night.

Some pickled onions.

Urgh!

An English delicacy.

ErmÖ And then we have this Frangelico liqueur.

Where did we get that?

I have no idea.

I think itíll give us a headache.

Weíve also got this.

Ah, cachacas.

You mix this with lime juice and a lot of sugar and it makes a caipirinha.

You get those in Brazil.

And weíve got a little bit of campari but I havenít got any soda water.

Iíll have to get some.

And then a bit more wine.

Is it.. ohÖ Itís scotch whiskey.

I think weíll be all right for a little while.

Do you have plenty to eat and drink too?

We hope so.

And are you like us and looking through your cupboards and finding food and drink there

that youíd forgotten you had?

Are you staying at home too?

What are you doing through this COVID-19 crisis?

Weíd love to hear about your experiences, so please write and tell us in the comments.

Or make a video about them.

You can post it on YouTube and send the link here.

Weíd love to know how youíre getting on.

Please keep safe everyone and donít forget to call your grandpa and grandma.

Bye.

Bye-bye